The Biden-Harris administration is facing allegations of using a Medicare email list to send a political message praising Vice President Kamala Harris. The Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, arguing that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) violated the Hatch Act by distributing this message.
In September, HHS used the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) list to email millions of Medicare recipients with a message from President Joe Biden. The email discussed healthcare reforms and attributed positive changes in the system to Harris, who is also the Democratic nominee for president. The email emphasized her tie-breaking vote and called healthcare a “right,” echoing Democratic campaign positions.
The Biden administration using the Medicare recipient email list to push pro-Kamala political messaging to 66 million people is the kind of egregious abuse of power that would dominate airwaves if Trump did it. https://t.co/6FBAmHoGgO
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) October 28, 2024
FACT’s executive director, Kendra Arnold, claimed the email was “entirely political” in its purpose, expressing concern over taxpayer resources being used to promote Harris. Arnold requested an investigation, questioning if HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and other officials knowingly crossed the line into political campaigning.
The complaint emphasized that Medicare recipients did not request political content, and several recipients voiced concerns about the email, labeling it “a campaign ad.” Many were surprised that HHS used taxpayer funds to send what they felt was a promotion of Harris’ role in healthcare reforms.
FACT is pressing the Office of Special Counsel to investigate the message and how the CMS email list was used. Arnold warned that not investigating would set a dangerous precedent, potentially leading to further government misuse of taxpayer-funded resources.
Based in Washington, D.C., FACT is focused on ethics and accountability in government. The group hopes the Office of Special Counsel will act to prevent further politicization of government communications.
It’s true, Biden and Harris were caught funneling billions of taxpayer funds into Medicare to try and lower premiums before the election, there is several emails regarding it and Kamala was the tie breaking vote in the Senate as VP to allow it to passhttps://t.co/IitfPmJFEd
— Zoro (@lostzoro77) October 23, 2024